Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Meszaros has signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk, the team announced on Friday.
Meszaros looked for a new contract in the NHL over the summer, ultimately taking a PTO with the Colorado Avalanche, but he was never offered a contract for the season.
Leaving aside that he was literally sent to Siberia, the 30-year-old Slovakian defender joins a team who sits atop the East in the KHL, giving Meszaros a chance at some success and, barring a NHL return in coming seasons, the team may have acquired a former NHLer with a good number of productive years left in the tank.
While the 2004 1st round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators could certainly come back to the NHL, he leaves now having played 645 NHL games, scoring 63 goals and 175 assists in that time and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in the 2005-06 season. Those 645 games were spent split between the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.
RELATED: Following Jail Term, Slava Voynov Signs 3-Year Deal in KHL